The Little List | November 8, 2021
Has anyone else noticed that Christmas is literally everywhere? It seemed like as soon as all the trick-or-treaters were tucked into bed, the world did a 180 shift towards the holidays. Christmas is by far my favourite holiday, but even I’m not ready to embrace it quite yet. Can it still be the Fall for a while longer? There has been an endless loop of Hallmark Christmas movies playing on television, wrapping paper displays in stores, and Christmas toy advertisements everywhere. Don’t even get me started on the shift to holiday drink specials at every single coffee shop and restaurant.
Before you call me Scrooge, I do have to say that it’s been interesting to notice. Maybe we are all just clinging on to every bit of hope we can find for joy leading into another long winter. These past couple of years have been really hard for everyone. With so many things different, maybe we all just want to cling onto something that feels a little more familiar. If that’s the case, start celebrating Christmas now if you need to and enjoy every last bit of it. We have to embrace any little joy-inducing thing that we can, you know?
These past couple of weeks have involved a lot of “treading water” over here. Or some may say, we’ve been focussing on surviving, not thriving. But there is joy to be found there too. These seasons always remind me of what my priorities are. There isn’t extra time to fill with nice-to-dos, but rather, I have to assess what is most important to me and do only that. We’ve had lots of couch snuggles, early bedtimes, and a handful of good conversations and it’s been a good reset leading into another busy time of the year. These are a few of the other things that have brought me joy, made me think, or helped me grow over the past couple of weeks:
Curt and Mabel gifted me a multitool as a celebration for reaching a personal goal over these past couple of weeks. It’s been really fun to dive right in and put it to use with our dining room project. I really enjoy building our tool collection and getting to learn new skills with power tools, so this little tool has brought me a lot of joy lately.
I’m pretty sure I have made these waffles three times now in the past two weeks. There’s nothing like a special breakfast on a random weekday to boost the spirits.
I have been enjoying this mini-series of podcasts about Social Media from Risen Motherhood (a faith-based motherhood platform). I have been taking a break from social media over the past few months and as I’ve been trying to reassess whether I want to hop back on, this series has been giving me a lot to think through.
I may not even be done our dining room makeover, but I’ve already been thinking about what space I want to tackle next in our home. I loved reading this fun article to “Find Your Powder Room Personality”, because spoiler: I want to do our main floor powder room. What is your powder room personality?
I made a few small changes in our family room this week and it’s amazing how reinvigorating it can feel just to freshen up a space. I painted this room completely black (Greenblack by SW) last Fall and it has been one of my favourite design risks I have ever taken. Add in a few cozy blankets and patterned pillows and this room really lives up to it’s name - The Cozy Room (we’ve called it this since the day we moved into our house). I’d still like to set up a little play area for Mabel in one corner, but I can already sense that we will spend a lot of time in there this winter.
My favourite wooden trays are back in stock! These are so versatile, affordable, and cute. We use them as catch-alls, pretty storage, and pretty much anywhere we can squeeze one (which is basically everywhere because they’re small).
I thought last week’s Sorry Girls’ video was a fun one - DIY gifts I would actually give my friends. Unlike every other video out there showing you how to make candles or soap, this one actually had some pretty cute and personalized ideas in it. It made me want to pull out the craft supplies and make something.
Once again, another random collection of things exist on this list, but I guess that’s the point. You never know what little things will spark something in you!
Speaking of Christmas, I posted this collection of simple and timeless holiday decor on our LiketoKnow.it account last week. I love how these items don’t scream traditional Christmas, but still feel really festive and beautiful. I’d love to add a beautiful nativity set to our decor this year and I want to cover a tree with those beautiful paper ornaments.
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